PBKS vs KKR, IPL 2025: Who Will Replace Injured Lockie Ferguson in Punjab Kings 11 Against Kolkata Knight Riders?

Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be without the services of New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson when they host Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match 31 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the New PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh on Tuesday (April 15).

Ferguson hobbled off the field clutching his left thigh during the clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad last week, leaving PBKS a bowler short as they failed to defend a mammoth 246 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

While no details of his injury were revealed, PBKS fast bowling coach James Hopes revealed that Kiwi speedster has picked up a decent injury, which rules him out of action indefinitely with his return to fitness before the season ends rated as very low.

The setback comes as a significant blow to Punjab, with Ferguson having been a key part of their bowling department, claiming five wickets at an economy rate of 9.17 and also being the go to bowler in the middle and death overs.

PBKS will have no choice but to find a replacement within the current squad for the clash against KKR as they are yet to officially rule out the Black Caps pacer and find an external solution to fill the void. So, how will PBKS cope with Ferguson's absence? Here is a look at the possible replacement options:

Who will replace injured Lockie Ferguson in PBKS 11 vs KKR today?

It is very unlikely that they find a like-for-like replacement, but PBKS do have options to fill the void left by Ferguson. The Punjab-based side have Australian pacer Xavier Bartlett in their ranks in case they want to play another pure specialist quick in the line up.

Additionally, they also have the option of Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, who can bowl gentle medium pace and also add the batting depth. PBKS, however, may look at uncapped Indian pacer Vyshak Vijaykumar to come into the team.

Although he can't match Ferguson for speed, Vyshak has demonstrated his ability of bowling in the death using a lot of variations including the knuckle ball. The Karnataka pacer played a crucial role in PBKS' season-opening win coming as an impact substitute.

Since delivering the game-changing spell against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Vyshak has unfortunately not found a place in the Punjab Kings 12 despite being named among the impact subs bench.

However, the absence of Ferguson provides a perfect oppotunity for the 28-year-old cement his place in the PBKS team for the remainder of the series as PBKS look to bounce back from a shambolic bowling display against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last outing.

Punjab Kings bowling unit that included Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal as well as Yash Thakur struggled to keep Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head quiet in their defeat to SRH. The all-round duo of Glenn Maxwell and Marco Jansen also had an off day on a surface made for the batters.